Left Brain vs. Right Brain: Findings on Visual Spatial Capacities and the Functional Neurology of Giftedness

Abstract

As neuroimaging technologies increase their sensitivity to assess the function of the human brain and results from these studies draw the attention of educators, it becomes paramount to identify misconceptions about what these data illustrate and how these findings might be applied to educational contexts. Some of these neuromyths have influenced our understanding of giftedness and visuospatial ability. One common neuromyth regarding visuospatial talent (VST) is that of hemispheric lateralization, the idea that the discrete abilities of VST are associated with activations identified primarily in the right hemisphere of the brain. This article reviews the behavioral and neuroimaging literature to trace and untangle the origins of this misconception, parsing our current understanding of brain functions associated with VST and giftedness in order to dispel the myth of hemispheric lateralization and offer a more comprehensive account for the observed functional asymmetries.

Keywords:

• cognition
• fMRI
• giftedness
• hemispheric lateralization
• intelligence
• left brain/right brain
• neuromyth
• neuroscience
• talent
• visual spatial processing